Page 169 of Trust No One

“I know a fun playground,” I said.

A sigh shuddered through her. She stared out the window silently until I turned into the playground parking lot. “Mommy takes me to playgrounds.” The frown on her face eased.

So far, I’d avoided discussing Maria. But maybe that had been a mistake. “Your mom loved parks. When we were kids, we’d play in the woods for hours. We’d hike trails and swim in the creek.”

“Mommy never let me go into the woods. She was worried.”

“It’s always good to be careful. There are a lot of places where you can fall.”

“She said there were ghosts in the woods.”

“Didn’t Amy also say there were fairies?” I glanced in the rearview mirror.

Her nod was visible. “Yeah.”

Maria had admitted once that she’d stayed out of the woods since Mom’s death. Accepting the cottage had unsettled her. “It’s just weird being close to where your mom died.”

“Did she say what ghosts she meant?” I asked softly.

Molly shook her head.

I turned down the radio. “I think about your mom and dad all the time now. You can talk about them anytime. I know they loved you very much.”

A sigh. “I miss them.”

“I miss them, too.”

“Are they getting a funeral?” she asked. “Dead people get funerals.”

“Have you been to a funeral before?”

“My friend Emily went to one for her grandfather. She said everyone was sad.”

“This funeral will be at the Hale cemetery on Tuesday. That way, your mom and dad will always be close.”

“Emily puts flowers on her grandfather’s grave.”

“And we’ll do that for your parents. We’ll keep them close.”

She caught my gaze in the reflection of the rearview mirror. “You aren’t worried about ghosts?”

I parked in an office parking lot. The buildings were low, surrounded by trees and bushes. A playground in a large mulch bed included a yellow slide, swings, a purple jungle gym, and a merry-go-round.

I shut off the engine. “No, I’m not afraid. And you shouldn’t be, either.”

Her chin rose. “I’m not.”

“If you are, will you tell me? You can tell me anything.”

“Okay.”

There were a half dozen mothers and fathers with children running around. They appeared to be preschoolers.

I checked the time. We had a few minutes to spare. I helped Molly out of the back seat. “I like the slide,” she said.

“Then you should go there first,” I said.

“The kids playing here are little.”